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heater hose help

91explorer1009

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NJ
Year, Model & Trim Level
91 sport
I have exhausted the search feature on this one but got a few conflicting, or at least confusing to me, answers. I am going to do a coolant flush with the kit, and need to know which hose going into the heater core is the inlet on a first gen, 91 ex. Please, I have read a lot about which one goes to the engine/water pump, but I just need to know, if I am looking at the firewall, towards the inside of the truck, is the inlet on the left or the right.

Also, I want to do seafoam, and I have also read and read but with many different opinions. I am prob. going to go with pouring it slowly into the main throttle body, as I open/rev the butterfly. This is OK, to pour into, I wont hydrolock my engine, sorry it is just scary to pour a liquid into my engine. For the life of me I could not find a picture of the brake boster line on a first gen ohv. I tried to find a pic with maybe an arrow for where to let it suck up the seafoam, but most posts just kept mentioning it. This would really help me out guys, please someone help. Thank you in advance. :salute:
 



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I am a weekend oil change guy, not to sound dumb, but I could really use a picture with the description, the power brake booster/master cylinder?? For the brakes?? Also, I read your thread, it says one of the hoses, but I read that if its on the wrong one you may not get as good of a flush as the inlet, depending on the waterpump or something, can someone just tell me if the inlet on the 91 is on the left or the right? Thanks
 






The heater core inlet hose is the hose that comes from the water pump.
 






marragtop makes a good point. You should think about it more in terms of direction of flow (follow the hose to the source) than left or right at the valve.

This is because if someone changed the hoses and reconnected them backwards to the heater valve, it probably wouldn't cause an issue with the heater, but you would be connecting your flush tee to the wrong hose (again, if that really even matters).

I've been curious, is there a flow diagram for coolant in the 4.0 OHV? I haven't seen it in the Haynes or Chiltons books (did I overlook it?).

As for your vaccuum line question, I believe there's a vaccuum line that runs from the vaccuum tree at the drivers side rear of the engine to the brake booster. Check that out first (sorry, can't get you a picture, but this should be obvious when you're under the hood).

Mike
 






can anyone else chime in here, when I searched, I saved another thread that I though contained my answer, quote,

10-09-2002, 11:17 AM #5
RangerX
Moderator
Elite Ranger


Oceanside, CA
'93 Ranger XLT



Join Date: Jul 1999
Posts: 4,408 You have two hoses coming out of the firewall from the heater core. Follow them back - one runs to the water pump, one runs to the top of the engine. You want to put the tee into the one that runs to the top of the engine.
Bill Collins
93 Ranger XLT 4X4 - modified
90 F250 2WD - work
92 Explorer Sport 4X4 - lightly modded - wife's
----------------------------
Beauty is only sheet metal deep.




OK, now can you see what I mean by conflicting? Can anyone else say if the inlet is the hose coming from the water pump or te hose going to the engine? Anyone else???
 






the water flows out of the engine at the thermostat housing and in to the heater and out of the heater and back to the water pump. you will get the best flush if you push the water in the reverse direction. but I like to do both it will get it even cleaner. don't forget to check all of your hoses and replace if they are more than 4 years old. it is a good time to replace your thermostat also, use only a 195 deg. as Ford recommends. don't use flex hoses, use only OEM molded hoses
 






I also like to do the final flush with bottled water and then use only bottled water and antifreeze when refilling. we have high mineral count in our water here and it will plug up a system pretty fast.
 






Distilled water is best.
 






Distilled water is best.

Absolutely

this is the good thing about doing this kind of service work yourself. no shop will take the care to do these little things that can make a big deference.
 












Check my thread called 10 steps to a clean cooling system for more information.
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Thanks everyone, when I am doing any work, I always use my haynes, and search the forum, and when I searched this one I saw many conflicting answers, from what I had researched some old posts made it sound like it had to be flushed the one way, and if you did it with the wrong hose, it could damage the water pump, etc etc.... but you clearly have said that is not the case, and I can do it either way. I still would probably like to insert the tee into the inlet though.

Not to go in cirlces here, but the inlet will be coming from the water pump correct??? So follow the hose from the water pump? Thanks again.
 






This is starting to hurt my head...

What are you talking about flushing backwards and forwards? This is an open loop running through the heater core, and when you're flushing, the water will flow in both directions starting at the T, will it not?

So, the water runs into the T, flows from one end to A: the engine (or water pump), flows from the other end through the heater core and goes to B: the water pump (or engine, opposite of A). Basically the clean water runs from the T, through both hoses back to the water pump and engine.

Or, am I missing something really obvious???

BTW, when you're doing this flushing, where does all the dirty coolant and water go? You don't open the drain and let it go down the street, correct? Where do you bring all that contaminated stuff to get rid of it?

Mike
 






I bring it to my township municipal facility, they take ur old oil and stuff.
 






ok, I followed one hose from the firewall to the top of the engine area, and the other to the waterpump, I definatly want the one going to the water pump, thats definatly the inlet?
 






bump.....anyone else??
 






ok, I followed one hose from the firewall to the top of the engine area, and the other to the waterpump, I definatly want the one going to the water pump, thats definatly the inlet?

Hey, guy...you're making this too complicated. Forget about left/right, up/down. DO think about what's happening in order for your heater to work. Hot water must flow from the block to the heater core, then return to the water pump to be recirculated in the block. Right behind your belt tensioner is the water pump housing...the hose connected to that housing is sending hot coolant to the heater core...therefore the other hose is returning coolant to the water pump. Hope this helps.;)
 






You're all making too much of this. When you put in the T and connect a garden hose, the clean water will flow in BOTH directions out of the T. The direction the coolant flows while the engine is running is 100% irrelevant.

The only effect that connecting to one hose or the other will have is the direction the water will flow through the heater core. If you choose the hose that is normally feeding the heater core (in the absence of the T), you will be flushing the core in the normal direction. If you choose the other hose, it will be flowing through the core in the reverse direction.

Think about it: the water will flow from the T to the engine through both heater hoses, one directly, and one after going through the heater core.

This assumes you have the drain open on the radiator. How else would you do this job? :confused:

Mike
 



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This is starting to hurt my head...

What are you talking about flushing backwards and forwards? This is an open loop running through the heater core, and when you're flushing, the water will flow in both directions starting at the T, will it not?

So, the water runs into the T, flows from one end to A: the engine (or water pump), flows from the other end through the heater core and goes to B: the water pump (or engine, opposite of A). Basically the clean water runs from the T, through both hoses back to the water pump and engine.

Or, am I missing something really obvious???

BTW, when you're doing this flushing, where does all the dirty coolant and water go? You don't open the drain and let it go down the street, correct? Where do you bring all that contaminated stuff to get rid of it?

Mike
______
I drain as much antifreeze out as I can and just let the flush run in my street drain along with all the other $hit that the companys around here are putting into our drains.
 






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